He’d figure it out.
Should he figure it out?
He wanted to. He wanted to figure shit out.
“I’ll get myself up to your area of the woods as soon as I can.” God help him, he wanted to figure this out.
“I have so much I need to say to you. But I want to say it in person. I want to hold you. Be safe. Love you.”
Love you.
Yeah, he did too. With all his heart.
“I love you, cher. You take care of that foot ’til I can.”
“I’m on it. I need it to heal right.”
“Call if you need me.” He hung up and sat there, finishing his cigarette. Lord have mercy, he guessed he had stuff to do.
First of all, he called Nathan. He needed someone to send a Christmas supper and a tree to a fancy-assed house in New York. Then he needed someone to get him up East and find a good place for his ’Stang.
Then he needed to go see whether Kyle could mean it, wanting him, believing in him.
Loving him.
20
Good morning,music man. I can’t stop thinking about you, I’m so relieved you’re coming back. Drive safe. Send me a pic of your mustang!
Colt blinked at his phone, wondering how long ago the text had come in. Lord. He’d just gotten out of bed, and Kyle was probably already in his studio. Such an early bird.
Except his bird had a bit of wing clipping happening, didn’t he? Poor cher.
He needed to see Kyle. He knew it was probably stupid, but, Lord, he hadn’t never once let stupidity stop him.
He slid from the bed and started packing his things.
Heading out now. Miss your face.
His phone rang immediately. “Good morning, lover.”
Colt blinked a little. Was he? Kyle’s lover? “Mornin’, cher. How you be?”
“Impatient to see you. And I’m cursing this fucking foot. I feel optimistic for the first time in weeks, and I need to dance. How… how are you?”
He put his earphone deal in and his phone in his pocket so he could pack. “It’s been a weird few weeks, huh? I can’t seem to sleep enough.”
“I haven’t been sleeping at all. You must be making up for me.” Kyle laughed, but it sounded off somehow, forced.
“I miss you.” The words slipped from him. “Bad.”
Kyle huffed out a breath. “I miss you so much. Drive carefully but drive fast, baby.”
The line went silent for a long stretch, neither one of them quite ready to hang up, but they didn’t seem to know what to say either.
“Colt?” Kyle said at last. “If I apologize, you’ll forgive me, won’t you? If I figure out how to… once I figure out how to put it all into the right words? You won’t just tell me it’s okay. You’ll really forgive me, won’t you?”
“Oh cher, you got all my forgives. Don’t you know that?”